Inca Conquest Research Articles

Diversity on the Altiplano: Geochemical perspectives on 3,000 years of potting practices in the Lake Titicaca basin

Potters in the Lake Titicaca basin produced a wide variety of ceramic styles over the last 3000 years. Archaeologists have drawn on this variety across space and time to track processes such as the development of multi-community polities during the Late Formative (200 BC-AD 600), the origins and expansion of Tiwanaku (AD 600–1000), the creation and maintenance of political boundaries during the Late Intermediate period (AD 1000–1400), and the strategies of Inca conquest and consolidation (AD 1400–1534). We report on LA-ICP-MS research into Titicaca ceramics and clays conducted at the Field Museum’s Elemental Analysis Facility (EAF), and present the first review of raw materials and pottery analyzed from across the region. Ceramic samples from the northern basin include samples from Taraco, Pukara, and neighboring sites, and speak to the diversity of intraregional potting practices during the Late Formative Period. Ceramic samples from the southern basin span the Middle Formative through the Inca periods, and index local and regional practices over two millennia. After presenting our specific case studies, we touch on how shifting scales of locality impact the chemical signatures explored here, the potential for comparative analyses across the region, and future directions for research collaborations.

The founding of the Inca provincial center of Tambo Viejo, Acarí, Perú

The Peruvian south coast was one of the regions annexed into the Inca state by diplomatic means. Tambo Viejo was the Inca center built in the Acarí Valley, which marks the southern boundary of the region. Building upon some dates found in ethnohistorical documents, the late John H. Rowe asserted that the Inca conquest of the region likely took place about AD 1476. Recent archaeological research at Tambo Viejo enabled us to secure AMS dates. The calibrated dates and Bayesian model suggest that the starting boundary of Inca occupation of Tambo Viejo began as early as ∼AD 1380, while the ending boundary is ∼AD 1510. The dates are earlier that Rowe's expected dates, but in line with other 14C dates from elsewhere the empire. What is clear is that the date is several decades earlier than the traditional chronology and agrees with the document known as Relación de Chincha.

Reconstructing the sequence of an Inca Period (1470-1532 CE) camelid sacrifice at El Pacífico, Peru

Animal sacrifice has played an important role as a material expression of the ritual behavior practiced by different societies around the world. In the South American Andes, the ceremonial immolation of llamas is well documented by both ethnohistoric and ethnographic sources. Nevertheless, archaeological evidence of animal sacrifice remains poorly documented. In this paper, we report the burial of two young camelids from El Pacífico, a Formative Period ceremonial site located on the central coast of Peru. AMS radiocarbon dates suggest the ritual sacrifice occurred when the architecture of the site was no longer in use, around the time of the Inca conquest. Based on the presence of cut marks and fly pupae, we suggest that one of the camelids, a yearling llama, was sacrificed by removal of its heart and buried shortly thereafter. Similarly, given the location of cut marks and representation of skeletal parts, we infer that the second camelid was slaughtered for human consumption prior to burial. In accordance with documented Andean rites, archaeological evidence from El Pacifico suggests that practitioners of camelid sacrifice followed a behavioral script following the selection of the animal to its final interment. We hypothesize the costly performance of this ceremony at an ancestral sacred site was part of a social and political strategy for promoting intergroup social cohesion during the arrival of the Incas to the region.

Cranial Traumas in a Sample from the Pucará de Tilcara Fortress (Jujuy Province, Argentina)

We analyze injuries in the cranial sample from the Pucará de Tilcara fortress, dating to the time of the Inca conquest. Analysis of violence markers, carried out by visual examination and computed tomography, and the comparison of results with those relating to samples from the Regional Development Period of the Quebrada de Humahuaca valley, suggest that although the violence level remained high, its nature could have changed after the arrival of the Inca. The female sample reveals just two perimortal injuries, no trophy skulls were found, and the frequency of nasal bone fractures is higher than in earlier samples. This may indicate lower level of between-group fi ghting for control over resources, and higher risk of interpersonal violence. The observed pattern suggests that having arrived in the Quebrada de Humahuaca region, the Inca eased political tension by establishing control over trade routes and the distribution of arable land areas, which had previously been the main cause of local armed clashes. The infl uence of artifi cial cranial modifi cations on the pathological and traumatic status of individuals was also analyzed. Two types of modifi cation were recorded in the sample—fronto-occipital tabular oblique and fronto-occipital tabular straight. None of them caused pathological changes or a decrease in the thickness of cranial bones.

1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya

Starting from around AD 800, the Chachapoya developed their own culture with monumental architecture. It came to an end in 1470 after the conquest by the Incas. At that time, a different architecture was introduced in the region followed by changes in the landscape. The article summarises the available evidence on architectural and archaeological remains dated to the period following the Inca conquest.

1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya

Starting from around AD 800, the Chachapoya developed their own culture with monumental architecture. It came to an end in 1470 after the conquest by the Incas. At that time, a different architecture was introduced in the region followed by changes in the landscape. The article summarises the available evidence on architectural and archaeological remains dated to the period following the Inca conquest.

Indigenous migrants negotiating belonging: Peticiones de cambio de fuero in Cajamarca, Peru, 17th–18th centuries

Prehispanic corporate social units in northern Peru, the pachacas or ayllus and the guarangas, continued to structure social life in Cajamarca throughout the Spanish colonial period. They were restructured by Spanish rule, as they had been by the Inca conquest before. Spanish rule also reshaped indigenous migration and the social categorization of the migrants, which was closely intertwined with the regime of land tenure. This article takes a look at the integration of new and old migrants and their descendants into the local social structure and examines how they negotiated their belonging in petitions to change or defend their fuero. The petitioners successfully argued on the basis of their ancestry, whether legitimate or not, and activated personal networks on their behalf. In that, they paralleled mestizo and mulatto petitioners who, like migrants, benefited from fiscal prerogatives, which were however challenged during the course of the 18th century, leading to a partial re-categorization. The redistribution of land was an important motive in these late colonial re-categorizations, but also earlier in the colonial period the absence of bonds to the land was an essential characteristic of being categorized as a ‘migrant.’

Rituals and abandonment in Juella with the Inca conquest of Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina

ABSTRACTThe opening and closing of spaces have been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the Andes. In an archaeological context, though I have numerous examples, there are not many examples that testify to the abandonment of a particular enclosure or settlement. However, with research and fieldwork undertaken in Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy Province, I have made a significant archaeological discovery – that of Enclosure 94 (R94), which includes a door closure, the interment of a foetus in the occupation floor, and the intentional burial of some goods. I consider this activity as part of an occupation that is restricted to the Late Intermediate Period (ad 1250–1450), that the material found and analyzed here is related to ritual and ceremonial activity of the closure and also the symbolic ‘death’ of this space. Based on radiocarbon dates obtained from this particular enclosure and its relationship to the overall site, I believe that this deposition is not only associated with the abandonment of the structure, but it is closely linked to the site at a time of the Inca conquest of the region.

Droughts, floods, and farming at Quebrada Tacahuay from late prehispanic to colonial times

We describe diachronic evidence of moisture reduction and its consequences for coastal irrigation, agriculture, and settlement at Quebrada Tacahuay, a large drainage south of the Osmore River in far southern Peru. These observations are the first for a drainage of this size and for one with occupation spanning over 12,000 years for southern Peru. Following several millennia of occupation by coastal foragers, farming populations settled the lower elevations of the drainage. Our analysis indicates that agricultural production was well developed in the fourteenth century prior to a previously documented, catastrophic El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) flood that took place sometime during the early-fourteenth century. Later in the fifteenth century the Inca conquest of the region and establishment of a coastal tambo and village was accompanied by agricultural expansion and the creation of new terraces. Subsequent Spanish colonization took place during the Little Ice Age and a period of increased coastal moisture. The historic and modern contraction of a large olive grove document the ongoing reduction in the coastal aquifer.

La organización sociopolítica de los Chachapoya: implicancias de la evidencia arqueológica de la provincia de Luya (Departamento de Amazonas)

Most researchers studying the history of the ancient Chachapoya (approx. 800- 550 AD) postulate that they were organized in a large number of autonomous and separate chiefdoms. However, the archaeological evidence does not necessarily support this hypothesis. Rather, it seems that the Chachapoya people lived before the Inca conquest in almost segmentary societies lacking political authorities. Archaeological evidence (forms of burial, rock paintings) recorded by the author in the Province of Luya solely indicate the presence of war chiefs. This evidence is corroborated by some of the colonial chroniclers stating that the chiefdom system of “curacazgos” had been introduced by the Inca. But how was it possible for the Chachapoya to build monumental architecture like the “fortified settlement” of Kuelap?. The architectural complex had to be designed and its construction made it necessary to organize extensive labor forces. This leaves us to deduce that, possibly, at some point in their history the Chachapoya lived in a more complex society with a ruling class. In this article the author uses the available archaeological and ethnohistorical data to discuss the pros and cons of the suggestions about the sociopolitical organization of the Chachapoya.

El Pucará de Aconquija «que llaman del Inga» y el pueblo de los Malle en la frontera sudoriental del Tawantinsuyu

The analysis of the nuances of the Inca conquest in the southern Andes has received consistent attention from both archaeologists and historians. Recent studies carried out in different regions of Collasuyu have evaluated the relationship between expansionary policies, systems of defense, and ethnic interaction in borderland contexts. These studies have generated promising areas of debate. In this paper I present results of archaeological studies and analysis of historical sources related to the Pucara of Aconquija (Catamarca, Argentina). This site is one of the most important Inca fortresses located on the southeastern frontier of Tawantinsuyu.

El transcurrir del tiempo y las prácticas mortuorias: Quebrada de Humahuaca (Jujuy, Argentina)

Prehistoric people who inhabited the Argentine Northwest, as in the rest of the Andean region, maintained a close coexistence with burial spaces, which generally were not spatially segregated. The proximity between the worlds of the «living» and «dead» is a problem that is being worked by archaeologists in association with the so-called «ancestor worship». The study of mortuary practices, that is, death rituals, funerary structures, contexts of burial and other practices related to death, as a part of the social practices of different groups, is an interesting source of information that may account development processes and social change experienced by prehispanic populations. In this paper we develop a series of reflections focused on mortuary practices recorded in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, tracing its history during the Late Formative Period (AD 500-900), the Regional Development Period (AD 900-1430) and the Inca conquest (AD 1430).

Testimonios de un adiós. Rituales y abandono en Juella ante la conquista inka de Humahuaca

The opening and closing of spaces has been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the Andes. At the archaeological level however, we have numerous examples of the first type and not many testimonies of abandon of a particular enclosure or settlement. In Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, we have a unique context that includes the closure of a door, a burial of an unborn in the occupation floor, and the intentional burial of some objects. In the context of an occupation restricted to the Regional Developments Period, we consider that the material found and analyzed here is related to rituals and ce-remonies of the closure and symbolic death of this space. From radiocarbon dates obtained from this particular event and its relationship to the overall site context, we believe that this event not only had to do with the abandonment of the structure, but is closely related to the site as a whole, and to the time of the Inca conquest of the region as well.

The peoples of the coast of Ecuador accommodate the Inca state

This paper evaluates ethnohistorical and archaeological evidence regarding the alleged Inca conquest of coastal Ecuador, discusses Inca state strategies, and explores the nature of the indigenous polities of the region in the period C.E. 1470–1532. Benzoni's interview with Cacique Colonchi around 1550 and the presence of an Inca-style aryballus in a tomb in the Colonchi Valley are suggestive of the ability of coastal peoples to resist and accommodate aggressors. To improve our understanding of this historical period, archaeologists must focus more research on the late prehistoric settlements of the western lowlands of Ecuador.

APROPIACIÓN INCAICA DE UN LUGAR SAGRADO EN LA QUEBRADA DE HUMAHUACA, JUJUY, ARGENTINA

The aim of this paper is studying the impact of Inca conquest of an archaeological site at Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy Province, Argentina. One way this process took form was through the transformation of landscape configuration and the re-signification of local practices. This article presents Campo Morado as an example of domination through the appropriation of a sacred-local place for the construction of an ushnu on it. We deal with this theme studying the site spatiality, acknowledging that architectural design operates as a technology to impose temporal and spatial order. Two methodological tools are used in this work: gamma maps and formal characteristics of architectural design. We conclude that Inca transformations were oriented towards local identity disintegration in pursuit of the creation of a new one, emphasizing the difference between Inca and local worlds.

Late-Holocene atmospheric lead deposition in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes

The analysis of lead (Pb) in lake-sediment cores is a useful method to reconstruct local histories of Pb pollution. Here, we use Pb concentration profiles from lake sediments to reconstruct local trajectories of pre-Colonial smelting from three metallurgical centres in the South American Andes: the Morococha mining district, Peru; the Bolivian Altiplano around Lake Titicaca; and the silver-mining centre of Potosí, Bolivia. The earliest evidence for Pb enrichment from smelting is on the Altiplano beginning ~AD 400, coincident with the rise of the pre-Incan Tiwanaku and Wari Empires. Coeval with the collapse of these Empires ~AD 1000, there is a dramatic decrease in Pb pollution on the Altiplano, suggesting metallurgical activity was closely tied to the Tiwanaku state. In contrast, metallurgy at Morococha, Peru and Potosí, Bolivia began ~AD 1000—1200, likely as the result of the diaspora generated by the collapses of Tiwanaku and Wari. The independent chronologies of these records suggest asynchronous metallurgical activity between mining centres, and local-scale control of mineral resources. Following Inca conquest of the Andes ~AD 1450, strong increases in Pb are noted at all three study sites, suggesting an increase in silver production to meet Inca imperial demand. Following Hispanic conquest (AD 1532), large increases in Pb pollution are noted at Morococha and Potosí, only to be superseded by industrial development. The records presented here have implications for the reconstruction of Andean prehistory, and demonstrate the sensitivity of lake sediment geochemistry to pre-Colonial smelting activity. The technique has much potential for exploring the timing and magnitude of pre-industrial metallurgy in the New World.

The Fragility of Imperialist Ideology and the End of Local Traditions, an Inca Example

Imperial expansions tend to be legitimated by myths of empire that support the position of a particular group of ruling élite. In order to maintain their power, these élites must take this ideology seriously or risk losing their positions to those that will. In the Inca Empire of the Andes, expansion was justified in large part as a divine mandate to spread a true religion to the people. Although the Inca generally strove to maintain local religions, a long-standing ritual tradition involving painted tablets ended with the Inca conquest of southern Peru. The demise of this practice suggests a greater imperial concern for providing proper gifts to the gods than can be gleaned from the historical records.

Inca expansion and parasitism in the lluta valley: preliminary data.

Assessing the impact of cultural change on parasitism has been a central goal in archaeoparasitology. The influence of civilization and the development of empires on parasitism has not been evaluated. Presented here is a preliminary analysis of the change in human parasitism associated with the Inca conquest of the Lluta Valley in Northern Chile. Changes in parasite prevalence are described. It can be seen that the change in life imposed on the inhabitants of the Lluta Valley by the Incas caused an increase in parasitism.

Ritual and pilgrimage in the ancient Andes: the islands of the sun and the moon

* Preface * Chapter 1. Inca Shrine Worship in the Andes * The End of Empire * The Great Sanctuaries of the Empire * The Imperial Cults of the Sun and the Moon * Pilgrimage Centers and the State: A Theoretical Perspective * Chapter 2. The Lake Titicaca Basin and Its Prehistory * The Lake Titicaca Basin * An Overview of the Lake Titicaca Basin Prehistory * Chapter 3. Inca and Early Colonial Activities in the Lake Titicaca Basin * Ramos Gavilan (1621) and Cobo (1653) * Lake Titicaca and the Origins of the Inca * The Inca Conquest of the Lake Titicaca Basin * The Early Colonial History of the Island of the Sun * Summary and Discussion * Chapter 4. The Islands of the Sun and the Moon Today: Geography, People, and Research * Geography and People of the Islands * Research on the Islands of the Sun and the Moon * Chapter 5. The Island of the Moon * Colonial References to the Island of the Moon * The Early Colonial History of the Island of the Moon * The Site of Inak Uyu * The Archaeological Survey of the Island of the Moon * Summary and Discussion * Chapter 6. The Pre-Inca Occupations on the Island of the Sun * Excavations at Pre-Inca Sites * The Early Prehistory of the Island of the Sun (2000 BC-AD 400) * The Tiwanaku Occupation (AD 400-1100) * The Altiplano Period Settlements (AD 1100-1400) * Chapter 7. The Island of the Sun under Inca Rule * The Incas on the Island of the Sun * Research at the Sites of Pilco Kayma and Kasapata * Archaeological Research in the Sanctuary Area * Astronomical Research on the Island of the Sun and Copacabana Peninsula * Chapter 8. The Pilgrim's Progress: An Archaeological and Historical Perspective * Arriving at Copacabana * The Journey from Copacabana to the Sanctuary of the Sun * The Entrance to the Sanctuary Area * The Sanctuary Area * The Island of the Moon and the Return Home * When Did the Visits Occur and What Was Offered? * Who Maintained the Shrines on the Islands of the Sun and the Moon? * Chapter 9. Pilgrimage and Ritual in the Ancient Andes * Shrine Worship and Regional Control for the Inca Empire * Ideology and Polity * Appendix. Radiocarbon Dates from the Islands of the Sun and the Moon * Notes * Bibliography * Index

Fish and mammals in the economy of an ancient Peruvian kingdom.

Fish and mammal bones from the coastal site of Cerro Azul, Peru shed light on economic specialization just before the Inca conquest of A. D. 1470. The site devoted itself to procuring anchovies and sardines in quantity for shipment to agricultural communities. These small fish were dried, stored, and eventually transported inland via caravans of pack llamas. Cerro Azul itself did not raise llamas but obtained charqui (or dried meat) as well as occasional whole adult animals from the caravans. Guinea pigs were locally raised. Some 20 species of larger fish were caught by using nets; the more prestigious varieties of these show up mainly in residential compounds occupied by elite families.